The taped conversations between three executives of Anglo Irish Bank leaked to the Irish Independent newspaper offer a depressing insight into the thinking of Ireland’s bankers during the crash.

In one exchange, John Bowe, head of capital markets, and Peter Fitzgerald, director of retail banking, candidly admit asking for €7bn from the government despite knowing the needs of their troubled bank were larger. In a later call, Mr Bowe and David Drumm, chief executive, mocked foreign governments and the Irish regulator. These feared that Anglo Irish was abusing a blanket guarantee the government had issued in an attempt to restore confidence in its banks before asking the eurozone for a €67.5bn rescue.

The executives deny they have misled the regulators. It is for the courts to decide whether their behaviour was a criminal offence. Yet, had the government been told the truth, it could have decided to let the bank fail instead of pouring in taxpayers’ money.